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Here
I like the axehead on that. I've never seen an axe on one side and sledge hammer on the other before. I'm thinking it's out of my price range.
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Batoning
- Thread starter James w
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I like the axehead on that. I've never seen an axe on one side and sledge hammer on the other before. I'm thinking it's out of my price range.
Creaky Bones
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Good suggestion. Durable, good warranty, inexpensive. Unfortunately we're way past the good suggestion portion of this thread and deep into the "you're stupid because you do something different than I say you should" portion of the battoning thread. I just hope this doesn't get closed down before my popcorn is done.
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Splitting Maul $180 or so. 5.5 lb. head.
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Batoning is a legitimate use of a knife. The problem is people started drinking kool aid and made batoning trendy, then people got sick of the hipsters and started hating on batoning. It is a means unto an end, despite being hailed as the ultimate in bushcraft coolness or douchebaggery.
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What about Busse/kin? I mean they are a whole new price range but you can baton a stop sign and not lose your edge.
That last video towards the end, I'm the guy carrying a knife (not a large on as I see it) on my belt on a hike. A pistol too. The large knife is on the pack
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Whatever "they" are doing, "we" are responsible for what goes on here.
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This is a great thread on the whole. I've always prefered my Buck 110 and a at camp hatchet over a large knife. The 110 isn't going to be used for batoning. Thanks to all the video links I actually learned a lot about using an axe, and made me even more sure of keeping a hatchet handy. I have loosened up about batoning as it seems mfrs are making knives for that purpose and if the tool is built for that purpose that's ok by me, but I'd still stand that when properlly used a hatchet is superior for processing wood than any knife ever. Batoning with a knife maybe legitimate but a hatchet is superior. There's always so much emphasis on packing light so people want to leave a hatchet behind. When I'm hiking I don't worry so much, I'm good with 60 ibs for over 20 miles in a day. If my hike was a competition of some kind maybe I'd consider compromising on some equipment but since it's not, I can easily pack what I want for an overnight or even a couple of nights and stay under 60 pounds. In that 60 pounds there will be room for a hatchet.
Yes it can be done with an axe/hatchet. Pretty sure I said it a few other times. Knives can do it too. They weigh less and are less bulky. Around the house, car camping, yup an axe is best as I am not packing it in.
I'm not here saying it's stupid to use an axe for any purpose at all. I'm here telling the people who think people are batoning to split a winters worth of wood is not what they are doing. They are people hiking light. Believe it of not you don't need an axe to split 3" max diameter wood to make a cooking fire. A tool used for many other purposes will do that just fine so why pack it? You don't need to. The people who say use the right tool, never baton, they just don't get out on multi day hikes and make cooking fires. They'd feel silly carrying a single purpose tool to split tiny branches for a quick fire. Then they'd get tired of the bulk carrying it everytime. It's part of the learning curve, at least for me it was.
If I'm going into the woods, and a fire is possible under the circumstances, I'm bringing my very sharp hatchet (Bridgeport scout model) because I know it can handle any wood tasks I'm likely to do. Naturally, I'll bring a fixed blade knife, too (and a pocket knife). If I were stuck in the woods without the hatchet AND I needed to make a fire, then yes, obviously, I'd baton with the fixed blade. Duh.
However, I view batoning as an activity to be done only when one misjudges the conditions and finds oneself stuck with inadequate preparation and probably having to overnight under hostile weather. In short, for me, it's an admission of a lack of planning and foresight on my part.
BTW, here's my "Nessmuk trio":
I can make fuzzsticks and tiny kindling with that hatchet. (It's easy: you hold the shaft up by the head and use the head like a big knife. The mass of the head does all the work. Oh, and make sure it's sharp.
However, I view batoning as an activity to be done only when one misjudges the conditions and finds oneself stuck with inadequate preparation and probably having to overnight under hostile weather. In short, for me, it's an admission of a lack of planning and foresight on my part.
BTW, here's my "Nessmuk trio":
I can make fuzzsticks and tiny kindling with that hatchet. (It's easy: you hold the shaft up by the head and use the head like a big knife. The mass of the head does all the work. Oh, and make sure it's sharp.
Last edited:
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I generally don't do multi day hikes anymore. I don't mind a very long day, but prefer to head to either a fixed campsite, motel, or home. So, my need to baton is limited. I liked the Canterbury video on batoning linked above. He was using about a 5" bladed knife and splitting up to perhaps 3" diameter wood and batoning was the last choice, not the first choice. I think that is an important point. You always save the knife from potential harm, but still use it.
I get what you're saying, and I agree. Light hikers who are concerned with weight are not going to pack an axe and nobody should expect them to, especially if they only intend to process wood for a cooking fire like you said. Others like me who don't mind the extra weight (even if going on long extended trips) may decide to bring a small axe because they know they can process more wood in lesser time. Regardless of all this, in the end it all comes down to personal preference. I was just taken a little aback by the poster (not you) who said that using a hatchet was "too slow and clumsy" and is "not the right tool for the job". To me that just shows ignorance and inexperience. Like I mentioned earlier though, I will still on occasion baton my knife through wood. I actually find it somewhat therapeutic.
Oh yeah, I agree fully there. Oh and you'd be amazed at the rip roaring fire I can make with a hand saw and 7" blade that lives on my pack. The pack goes where I go so the saw and big blade are always there. On my last multi day trip last week I never used it. My just under 4" Falcon made all of my fire wood and I did fuel it for a while to be more than a cooking fire the first night. If I feel like it though I can break out the big blade and make a nice "camp" fire that makes enough hot coals to relight a fire in the morning.
I got 4" of rain in a 3 hour period today and that wasn't all the rain we got. I need to head back to my spot on the river out back and see if my splitting slab got washed away like the last time we got rain like this. That water is powerful to just up a large heavy chunk of wood like that lol. This one is up further away from the bank though, should be good, I hope.
I'd also like to point out that some people are quite good at "feathersticking" with their axes and hatchets. Some peoples skill there is astounding to me.
Thanks for the links, I'll be sure to watch those. As I've said, I want to get better with my axe skills (not hard, I basically have none) and these look great to help them along
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And I was going to mention something similar. Most people that bring axes bring them instead of a larger blade (so the weight difference isn't as large), and oftentimes their fixed blade (main blade) is lighter as well. The bulk/packing "issue" is a bit more real, but nothing that is really going to cause problems most of the time.
No problem brother! Excellent point too! When the axe isn't with me, this comes along
Boris exposed the secret splitting maul bushcraft cult .
a pack saw or Sven saw will work up a gob a firewood. i do know a young fella who carties his Wetterlings with him when he knows there will be wood to chop for a fire but he never carries it on mountain hikes.
good point. a Sven saw and a good straight blade will do the job.
buzz
prolly important.
get out in nature somewhere. look at what is left of urban wildlife? not much.
chop wood, make camp fires, smell the smoke.
use a big whopper chopper knife like a mountain man. swing an axe. recreate yourself in the image of Nessmuk and Kephart.
i'm just sayin'
all good
buzz
get out in nature somewhere. look at what is left of urban wildlife? not much.
chop wood, make camp fires, smell the smoke.
use a big whopper chopper knife like a mountain man. swing an axe. recreate yourself in the image of Nessmuk and Kephart.
i'm just sayin'
all good
buzz
good advice. Old Jimbo makes a few gluts and splits a huge log with a little Norlund hatchet, exactly
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We always hear the "Right tool for the right job" mantra but a tool made for one purpose can excel in various others. Im not a huge advocate of battoning but I've done it before with a knife with no issues and prefer a large knife to a hatchet for versatility and find it safer. I baton/split pieces of wood (with a knife) for fire prep with no issues. I've battoned pieces of wood in the creation of fire boards or to whittle spoons.
While I would never take a large knife over an axe I don't understand why some (not that we have seen it in this thread) detest battoning. Is it really that horrible of a thing? (I'm not being sarcastic, just curious).
While I would never take a large knife over an axe I don't understand why some (not that we have seen it in this thread) detest battoning. Is it really that horrible of a thing? (I'm not being sarcastic, just curious).
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The reason I detested it so long, having been a mechanic in the past, it's hard watching good equipment being abused. Nowadays a lot of knives are being designed and built to be batonned. I would still have a problem doing that because your still having to beat the hell out of a perfectly good peice of equipment. Even though knives are being built to withstand batonning, they still don't do as well at processing wood as a good camp hatchet. That goes back to right tool for the job. If your a light loader and don't want to carry a hatchet, understood. The fact a hatchet so easily leaves a knife in the dust when it comes to processing wood shows which tool is purpose built for that. It's not unusual to improvise if you don't have the right tool, but if I can have the right tool, I will have that tool.